Nerium oleander plant -- Turner&#39;s Carnival

ABSTRACT

A Nerium oleander plant which has a petite and upright habit of fairly rapid growth, being particularly characterized by the unique color of its inflorescence, the flowers being a soft pink color with tinges of pinkish red.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety, of petitesize, of Nerium oleander which was originated by me as a seedling bysuccessive selection and crossing. I originally started from a Neriumoleander "Mrs. Roeding" and a Nerium oleander "Petite salmon". The "Mrs.Roeding" produces a salmon pink semi-double flower, the plant beingdwarf in size, that is about six to eight feet tall at maturity. The"Petite salmon" produces single flowers which are bright salmon pink incolor, and is a petite size plant about six feet high at maturity. Froma seedling which was a cross from the "Mrs. Roeding" and the "Petitesalmon", I further crossed with a Nerium oleander "Algiers". The"Algiers" is a petite size plant which produces a single flower offluorescent red color. However in making my crosses, I observed thatpollination was sometimes accomplished by bees from unknown plants. Thusunknown parentage could have been introduced by the bees even though Idid not purposely introduce any parentage other than the "Mrs. Roeding", the "Petite Salmon" and the "Algiers".

The new and distinct variety of Nerium oleander claimed by me herein wasdeveloped through several generations of selection and crossing. Fromone group of seedlings I observed a plant, being the plant claimedherein, having a new and distinct color of flowers, and from cuttings ofsuch plant I was able to asexually reproduce plants having the samecharacteristics and flower color as the original seedling. All of thedescendant plants showed the same characteristics as the originalseedling, and as a result of extensive observations and tests which arenot described in full herein for sake of brevity, it is my opinion and Iam convinced that my new plant is a new variety of Nerium oleander whichis distinguished from all other varieties of which I am aware asevidenced by the following unique combination of principalcharacteristics which are outstanding therein:

(1) An upright habit of fairly rapid growth and of petite size making itespecially suitable for use as a low hedge, as a pot plant or to addgarden color;

(2) An ability to be asexually reproduced;

(3) The ability to flower off and on throughout the year;

(4) The ability to bloom in partial shade, such as morning sun only; and

(5) The ability to grow and flower in relatively small pots as small asabout eight centimeters in diameter.

(6) The ability to produce a flower having a soft pink color and tingesof pinkish red.

Asexual reproductions of my new variety as by cuttings shown that theforegoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and areestablished and transmitted through succeeding propagations.

The accompanying FIGURE is a photograph of a typical flower on the plantof my new variety more clearly illustrating the colors present on eachflower. The true color of the foliage and flowers is described in thefollowing description and is depicted in the FIGURE which depicts thecolor as nearly as true as is reasonably possible in a colorillustration of this type.

The following is a detailed description of my new variety of Neriumoleander, which color numbers in accordance with the Pantone MatchingSystem of colors for printing inks, 18th edition, published by Pantone,Inc., 1985-1986. Terms used to describe colors are those of ordinarysignificance.

THE PLANT

Growth habit: Upright, petite size; the height of an unpruned matureplant will probably be from about 2 to 3 meters, but has not yet beendetermined; fast growing. The plant grows full from just about groundlevel upward, with the width of the plant about 30% to 60% of theheight.

Hardiness: Adapted to seaside planting as it tolerates soil withrelatively high salt content; tolerates droughts; will not withstandprolonged and severe freezing weather; most suitable for the SouthernUnited States from California to Florida, in the areas known as Zones 9and 10; withstands heat and light and grows either in full sun or inpartial shade (up to 50% shade) such as morning sun only; can be grownin small pots as small as about 8 centimeters in diameter.

Branches: The plant is loosely branched from just above ground levelwith main branches and branchlets ascending. The plant does not developa central leader or trunk. New growth of branches is a light to mediumgreen, Color No. 390U, changing to light brown in color as branchesmature.

Blooming period: Blooms off and on the entire year, being in bloom about75% of the time.

THE FOLIAGE

Type: Broadleaf evergreen; numerous; petioled; grow in a whorl withthree leaves in each whorl.

Shape: Linear-lanceolate, with entire margins. Apex is more or lessacuminate and slightly non-symmetrical, and base is acute.

Petioles: Length, from about 4 to 6 mm; color pale green.

Leaf size: Length of mature leaf from about 120 to 160 mm; width ofmature leaf about 15 to 25 mm. Size of leaf varies according to sunshineconditions at the time the leaf is produced, with larger leaves beingproduced under cloudy conditions than under sunny conditions.

Venation: Midrib or under surface prominent and readily apparent and ispale green, Color No. 585U; on upper surface midrib is clearly visibleand slightly recessed, and is pale green, Color No. 585U; lateral veinsare not readily apparent on upper surface but under surface containsnumerous, delicate, almost parallel lateral veins which are readilyapparent, the lateral veins being substantially perpendicular to themidrib.

Leaf color:

Mature leaves.--Upper surface-- dark green, Color No. 574C; undersurface much lighter in color than upper surface, being a medium green,Color No. 582U.

New leaves: About the same color as mature leaves but perhaps slightlylighter in color.

Leaf texture: Tough, leathery; smooth.

Upper surface.--semi-glossy.

Lower surface.--Dull.

THE INFLORESCENCE

Position and abundance: Flowers cluster at twig or branch ends interminal cymes, with cymes appearing at various positions from the lowerpart to the upper part of the plant.

Form: Single; regular; pediceled; petals united in a sympetalouscorolla; salverform; tube spreads into five limbs or lobes; each floweris about 35 to 45 mm across; corona conspicuous at junction of tube andspreading limb, corona about 10 to 15 mm in diameter and much shorterthan spreading limbs, the corona having five crownlike appendages, eachappendage corresponding to a limb, each appendage being 2 to 4 toothed;

Buds: Limbs convolute in the bud, obliquely apiculate, the foldstwisting counterclockwise when viewing down onto the tip of the bud.

Calyx: Of 5 persistent sepals, imbricate in the bud, lanceolate,acuminate, about 4 to 6 mm long.

Stamen: 5 stamens; filaments partly adnate to corolla tube; anthers with2 basal tails, apex long-attenuate, hairy.

Color of flower: Limbs of the corolla in new flowers are soft pinkcolor, Color No. 197C, except that one edge of the margin of each limb(as viewed from the topside of the flower) is tinged with pinkish red,Color No. 207C, the edge of each limb that is tinged with pinkish redbeing that edge which is exposed in the bud. As the flowers age, thecolor of the limbs fade somewhat becoming more pale than in the newgrowth. The corona is golden yellow, Color No. 114U, with 5 groups of 3dark pinkish red streaks, Color No. 199U, each group of pinkish redstreaks consisting of a thicker central streak having a narrower streakon each side, each group of pinkish red streaks being more or lesscentered with and corresponding to limb and to a said corona appendage,the streaks being radial in nature (as opposed to circular) such thatthe streaks extend from the edge of each appendage down into the coronatube, or vice versa. The outside of the corolla tube of each flower ispale pink, Color No. 197U, with tinges of pale yellow, Color No. 113U,there being in particular 5 small pale yellow streaks extending alongthe tube alternate with the spreading limbs. The calyx and sepals arelight green, Color No. 382U, with tinges of pinkish red, Color No. 207C.

Color of buds: Dark pinkish red, Color No. 207C, corresponding to edgesof the convoluted limbs.

To further describe my new variety of Nerium oleander, it is verysimilar in size and growth habit to the other well-known petite sizeNerium oleanders which grow in an upright manner, except for the colorof the flowers, and except that my new variety appears to tolerate shadebetter than the other petite Nerium oleanders of which I am aware. Mynew variety also blooms much earlier, and longer, than other petiteNerium oleanders of which I am aware and blooms more profusely with eachcluster or terminal cyme appearing to have more blooms per cluster thanprior art petites of which I am aware. I am not aware of any Neriumoleander of petite size having a flower which is the same as thatproduced by my plant.

VARIETY NAME

The proposed variety name of my new plant is Nerium oleander "Turner'sCarnival".

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of petite size Nerium oleandersubstantially as shown and described, having an upright habit of fairlyrapid growth making it especially suitable as a low hedge or pot plant,having an ability to be asexually reproduced, having the ability toflower off and on throughout the entire year, having the ability to growin full sun or in partial shade, having the ability to grow and flowerin relatively small pots, and being particularly characterized by itspetite size combined with the unique color of its inflorescence, theflowers being a soft pink color with tinges of pinkish red.